video archives. i bet there's good stuff we have not yet seen. >> reverend al, what have you learned? >> eight hours. that's what the republicans have. eight hours or it's a wrap for them. >> i don't know how you can hem and haw when someone is simply an idiot. >> what did you learn? >> i learn when you wear that dress, you get very true. >> that's true. i like it. >> stick around. right now chuck todd in "the daily rundown." >> congressman todd akin says he's not going anywhere despite the avalanche of pressure that poured dn on him from anyone in the party with access to a microphone or e-mail machine. just nine hours to go before the deadline to withdraw. and what, he's out with a new ad. it's been a while. but president obama faced reporters in the briefing room. and he defended his strategy of

hitting mitt romney on his tax returns. plus, echoes of 1994 have ted kennedy's tactics to defeat mitt romney have influenced mitt romney this time around? >> good morning, from new york, it's tuesday, august 21st, 2012. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. this morning an issue where president obama and mitt romney are hesitant to go. their religion. they both gave interviews on the roles religion plays in their lives with the national cathedral magazine. we have the very first look at those interviews. but first, let's get to the first reads of the morning. the clock is ticking. there are less than nine hours to go to get congressman todd akin off the ballot in missouri, and the republican party is doing everything they can to force him out by 5:00 central time. what's most remarkable is the speed and force with which the entire weight of the party has fallen on akin's head.

>> the party's leader rushed to distance himself in an interview with new hampshire's wmar. >> his comments about rape were deeply offensive, and i can't defend what he said. i can't defend him. >> do you think for the benefit of the party he should drop out? >> he should consider what's in the best interest of the things he believes the most deeply. >> and every republican vulnerable to gender issues on the ballot rushed out a statement. it started with massachusetts senator scott brown. he led the charge, calling on akin to resign his nomination. wisconsin senator ron johnson called on akin to get out. he called them inexcusable. and after that he should step aside for the good of the nation. the nevada senator dean heller. he says he should not be the standard bearer for the missouri gop.

and charlie summers. as a husband and a father, i found representative akin's comments shockingly offensive. he should resign effective immediately. and the party apparatus came crashing down on akin's head. first karl rove's group. they had a new round of ads scheduled to start wednesday. they announced they're pulling the buy for good. senator john kor anyone announced that nrsc would also pull their support. over the next 24 hours congressman akin should consider what is best for him, his family, the republican party and the values that he has fought for throughout his career. then he went on the best known station in missouri, kmox to make it crystal clear the gop wants akin out. >> we have victory centers and volunteers that do work around

missouri. i told them to take congressman akin off the script today. i think he's got to think long and hard about this. if it was me, i wouldn't have said anything that dumb to begin with. if it was me, i would definitely end my run for senate. >> in between, you had vice presidential candidate and house colleague paul ryan making a phone call to akin. nobody seems to dispute ryan's job was to pave the way for akin to manage a graceful exit. but akin doesn't seem to be going anywhere. at least not yet. yesterday he made it clear he understands the stakes and is rejecting the offer to quit. >> i was told that there is a decision that has to be made by 5:00 tomorrow. and i was calling you and letting you know that i'm announcing today that we're going to stay in. >> and this morning akin is out with a new tv ad called f

forgiveness. >> rape is an evil act. i used the wrong words. the fact is, rape could leave to pregnancy. the truth is, rape has many victims. the mistake i made was in the words i said, not in the heart i hold. i request for your forgiveness. >> the ad includes this screen shot of akin and his wife. he does not backtrack from his original policy stance, that a rape victim does not have any opportunity to have an abortion. if akin does step aside he ran in the primary and finished third. congresswoman emerson, who is probably too machb stream. then there's businessman john brunner, who came in second there.

we shall see. by the way, did mitt romney and paul ryan have an event yesterday? the outdoor appearance as a duo on the road for a week, completely overshadowed by the akin debacle. it shows you why they're so insistent on trying to get him out of the race. >> the president just poured fuel on the fire. >> rape is rape and the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we're talking about doesn't make sense to the american people. and certainly doesn't make sense to me. >> for romney already reeling, the akin story reignites a discussion that they are eager to have.

yesterday he pushed a message his campaign has already been running with in ads. >> although these particular comments have led governor romney and other politicians to distance themselves, the notion that we should be making decisions for women for their health care decisions or qualifying forcible rape versus nonforcible rape, i think those are broader issues. >> the bill, forcible rape, in reference to a house bill that ryan cosponsored. romney's running mate is making trouble for him this week. it would be easier to throw him under the bus if he didn't have a top house republican on the ticket. that's the extra piece of baggage that some republicans are concerned about that ryan was bringing to the ticket. it's not him. it's just the brand of the house republicans right now

nationally. and in another case of bad timing, nbc news has learned the draft language on abortion in the republican party's official platform, which will get voted on today, calls for the, quote, human life amendment", and that would outlaw abortion in all circumstances, even in cases of rape or incest. a full committee will vote on the draft language. it's the same language used in 2004 and 2008. and tomorrow at the full convention, we'll take it all up on monday. and remember the platform language runs counter to a statement the romney campaign featured monday night saying a romney-ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape. this means that bush, mccain and now romney all disagree with their own party's platform on abortion for the third straight convention. now putting romney in the awkward position of disagreeing with the rnc is something that he has in common with other republicans. george w. bush, john mccain, et cetera.

but it's the timing of this that is awkward and it's what the obama campaign is talking about. they have a reason to talk about it even more. now the real reason the president agreed to go in the briefing room is to defend the tone and tenure of the campaign. and maybe more distracting was the justification for why romney's tax returns are irrelevant. something i asked him about. >> do you think there's something mitt romney is not telling us in his tax returns? >> there's a difference between playing by the same sets of rules and doing something illegal. and in no way have we suggested the latter. and i'm not asking to this disclose every detail of his

medical records, although, we normally do that as well, but, you know, this is sort of overly personal here, you guys. >> we haven't gotten health records for anybody in a long tim time. >> i put out all that is required by law and then some. the financial disclosures go back a number of years. my tax returns are extensive. the m thes are trying their best to see if they can't get people to think about something other than jobs and the economy, and the president's record. >> you anyway, it's interesting, sometimes candidates like to distance themselves from negative attacks.

but the president wants to own this one on romney's tax returns. >> nobody accused mr. romney of being a felon. if you looked a the overall trajectory of the campaign and the ads that i have approved and are produced by my campaign you'll see we point out sharp distances between the candidates, but we done go out of bounds. >> is the tone of this race good for the country? >> i think it's unfortunate that the president, not having a good record to run on, is trying to attack his opponents on a personal basis and mischaracterize the reasons we're in the race. we've seen his plan. we watched it the last three and a half years. he said he would keep unemployment below 8%. it hasn't been below 8% since. a lot of people may like the man, but he hasn't been able to do what he said he would do. >> so where does the race stand?

guess what's coming tonight at 6:30, nbc "wall street journal" poll. it will have the latest. was there a ryan bump? we'll let you know. ten days in nine states after he was announced. paul ryan makes his first campaign appearance in pennsylvania today. we are live in carnegie, pennsylvania, just outside of pittsburgh. ron, what's interesting about this trip is this. is he also raising money they're not any tv odds. >> they know the odds are stacked up against them. george h.w. bush was the last to win the commonwealth. so they're going to make a play for pennsylvania. specifically this morning the speech will be about jobs. mitt romney wants to create 12

million jobs. and paul ryan is going to emphasize that. probably broke out a specific numbers about how many jobs they will predict in pennsylvania. so we're expecting a pretty good crowd here. you can see behind me the slogan, we did build it. they'll talk about folks who own businesses didn't necessarily build the businesses on their own. a lot of talk was made about paul ryan about how well they seem to get along in the primary events on the way to his appointment a week ago saturday. take a listen to what he said in an interview about his relationship with mitt romney. >> how you getting along? >> great. that's why he chose me in the first place. we get along. >> we have a good sense of humor, too. the first weekend we were together, we were on a bus together. he has three kids. getting the dirt off the floor, shining our shoes as he was going by.

>> we have an afternoon event near philadelphia in the town of westchester. we're ending the night in virginia where paul ryan will stump tomorrow. >> ron mott, continue to emphasize, folks, always watch the tv ad dollars. a lot of times events in states in the battleground are tied to fund raising. that's what today is. not on tv in pennsylvania. by the way, not on tv this week in wisconsin, either. we'll have more on that later in the show. up next, private practice. we have a rare look at a topic both mitt romney and president obama don't talk much about. their own faith. the presidential candidates, though, did open up about religion in exclusive interviews. we have the first look at it. and still to come, the latest fund raising numbers are in. who is winning the all important campaign cash race. i want to talk about this issue of are the republican campaign's chickens copping home to roost?

but first a look ahead at the president's schedule and mitt romney's schedule today. the president has a long cross country stop. he's doing rallies in columbus, ohio, and then just flying another four hours to do a rally in nevada. mitt romney, no public events. sounds like fund raising. there are projects. and there are game-changers. those ideas that start with us rolling up our sleeves... ...and end with a new favorite room in the house. and when we can save even more on those kinds of projects... ...with advice to make them even better... ...that's a game-changer in itself. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get flooring for every budget with pergo gunstock oak laminate for just $1.88 per square foot.

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my christian faith has been a sustaining force for me over these last few years. all the more so when michelle and i hear our faith questioned from time to time. >> i'm a member of the church of jesus christ of ladder day

saints. i'm fine with that. i'll talk about my experiences in the church. there's no question that helped shape my perspective. >> president obama and mitt romney have faced scrutiny about their religious beliefs. so it's a rare opportunity to read or hear what either one has to say about it, let alone answer questions about faith by an exclusive interview published by the national cathedral in washington. both president obama and mitt romney agreed to written interviews about their faith. joining me is reverend doctor frances wade. he put this together. first of all, i have to say, normally i would assume in previous presidential years this wouldn't be a difficult thing given both are hesitant to be so public about the faith, how

difficult was this? >> actually, the campaign has twoopted very well. they were eager to do they were. they were generous in the response. it's true they delayed a long time. i think we are trusted, but it was not gift to get their attention, and they took it very seriously and followed through in a good way. the first question is how does faith play a role in your life? i've said before my faith has grown as president. as president lincoln once said i've been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that i had no place else to go. a consequence of our common humanity is the responsibility

to one another to fellow americans foremost but every child of god. i think both of those responses draw great strength from their faith. and in both cases the faith has compelled themo serve the nation in wonderful ways. so while there are differences in their statement and the manner in which they continue in their faith what their faith has meant for them and done for them has been remarkably consistent. >> this question i found interesting. it was sort of, how do you view the role of faith in public life. the president said this. we face big challenges in this

country and we're coming to this the point where we will decide if we're truly in this together, or if each individual should just fight for what serves them best. sounding very much like a campaign answer there from the president. and then governor romney. the creator should remain in the pledge. nativity seens should be welcome in our public places. our greatness would not long endure without the judges. also governor romney playing a political card here. he said he thought father or mother have gone too far worrying about the separation of church and state. >> they both, again, are stating principles that are well within the christian hope and hope of faith. to deny the fact of faith and religion in our common life is a mistake. that's pretending something

doesn't exist when it in fact exists with great power. i think that's a decision for other people to make. but his point is well taken. and president obama speaks very clearly about the moral framework for the great conversations of our society. and we do have the framework. and it should be honored. faith and understanding has a great role to play in the life of this nation, has always played the role, and we're foolish to pretend it does not. >> now to the question of what makes your interviews unique here. because we don't hear them talk about it. and the question you gave to both of them is some people have questioned the sincerity of your faith and your christianity. how do you respond to the questions? president obama said, you know, there's not much i can do about it. i have a job to do as president. it's not involve convincing

folks that my faith in jesus is real. governor romney said it this way. i believe that jesus christ is the son of god and the savior of mankind. every religion has its own doctrines in historiful these should be a test of our religious tolerance. it would be shallow principles if it was reserved only for faiths in which we agree. it's something oddly unique in which they share. there have been public doubts about how devout they are when it comes to christianity. >> it's true. that's a reason for a lot of avoidance of the topic. that's why we're pleased to help the conversation take place. faith is a very powerful force in people's lives.

but because the language of fais tends to the absolute, it's difficult for taitful people to con tem plain differences in expression and understanding of faith. truth is a great big thing, but that's difficult for people. so a great deal of faithful people in the nation have a hard time getting their idea around the nuances that might be expressed in the faith of president obama and governor romney. it becomes emotionally laden. faith and religion are not objective things. >> that's a great point. i will end it there. thauj for doing this. i have it up here. it's an important read. we're always wanting to know how they conduct themselves in their own religions.

and it's an important topic. thank you very much for coming on. >> you know what we say here. if it's tuesday somebody is voting somewhere. somebody is voting somewhere. with democrats trying to keep control of the senate, we'll tell you who is voting today. but first, today's trivia question. how many men have held all three of these jobs in their careers? governor, u.s. senator and president of the united states. the first correct answer will get a follow tuesday on us. it's something you're born with. and inspires the things you choose to do.

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on our radar this morning, campaign cash for dash goes on, and you know what they say about tuesday, but first, let's bring you that news in afghanistan. the insurgent rocket fire that hit the flame being used by the top u.s. general while he's in afghanistan, while the aircraft was parked at an air base outside kabul. and the chairman of the joint chief of staff was nowhere near the plane when it was hit. the nato staff calls it a lucky shot. general mark dempsey left afghanistan in another aircraft. the obama campaign spending for july exceeded donations. the president's team spent $59 million in july. but only raised $49 million. the campaign is now $8 # in the bank. the romney campaign reports it took in $40 million in july. the bulk of all that money spent in july went to advertising.

when you factor in the outside parties, they are the clear advantage. they now have $89 million in the bank. the dnc raised $10 million and has just $15 million in the bank. we were giving you campaign to campaign. and if it's tuesday, somebody is voting somewhere. and that somewhere is in georgia for runoffs. great state of pete williams. they face off against a couple of primary opponents. jim chestnut is a favorite to win. as is republican congresswoman. she's seeking her third two-year term and will face off against chris henrichsen. he is unopposed in today's primary. up next, the road map to beat

mitt romney. was it written nearly 20 years ago by none other than senator ted kennedy? we're taking a deep dive into how closely they are following the script that sank romney in '94. rning? it's the only way to get fresh coffee. not in my house! this new flavor lock pack from maxwell house helps seal in freshness. wow! that is fresh! am i still yelling? [ male announcer ] maxwell house flavor lock. always good to the last drop.

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whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners, and the community amazing things happen. to me, that's the membership effect. don't worry. the interviews will be coming back throughout the rest of the year. and we're back to deep dives. could mitt romney be beaten by a strategy nearly identical to the one that beat him in the first political ad 18 years ago? tag romney as a corporate raider who made millions at workers' expense. the year was 1994. the campaign was ted kennedy. mitt romney was a first time advantage trying to take

republican of the kennedy campaign. they had already abandoned one-half try tactic. then joe kennedy, ted's nephew, deputized as pit bull at the time, had aggressively taken on mormon's faith, saying they believed blacks and women were second class citizens. but later ted kennedy, who had said religion would not be part of the campaign, went after him pretty aggressively. >> >> there are different kinds of issues and questions. for example, 1978 there was a change in terms of the teaching. where is mr. romney on the issue? >> the next day romney hastily called a press conference. >> i am not here to run for cardinal. and i'm not getting into discussions on the church's doctrines. all that does in my view is play

into religious bigotry. >> the irony, of course, the kennedys doing this, given what john kennedy had gone through. his father, george romney, was unable to stay quiet. dove into a gaggle of reporters and angrily attacked kennedy for making romney's faith a campaign issue. it was at the same press conference, and he dominated it. watch. >> i think it's absolutely wrong to keep hammering on the religious issue. i think he's talking about something he has no right to bring into a political campaign. >> well, romney's faith was off limits. kennedy's campaign zeroed in on a strategy to make romney unacceptable to voters and working women. for months the kennedy campaign was sifting through mitt romney's background and hit on an office supply company, which just fired workers from a paper

factory in indiana. on september 26th, they dispatched a camera crew to marion, and three days after filming, kennedy went up with five 30-second ads that looked like this. >> i would like to say to mitt romney, if you think you make such a good senator, come out here to marion, indiana, and see what your company has done to these people. >> we had no rights anymore. >> they cut the wages. >> we no longer had insurance. >> basically cut our throats. >> >> well, if some of the workers look familiar, it's because you've seen them, older versions of them in the president's ads. >> romney said about he thought layoffs were good and that this was the real world. >> he just wants to take money out of your pock and put it in his. >> right.

>> we were a nice, strong, healthy company. we were making money. for them to come out and set the place down, it was devastating. >> if you think it can't happen to you, think again. we thought it wouldn't happen here either. >> they were threatening the to take my car. i was scared. it affects every aspect of your life. >> at the obama campaign, the kennedy campaign tried to turn his main call for office, his experience at bain capital. they also targeted hi personal wealth to make him seem unlikable. >> romney favors giveaways for the rich. this from a man who made $11 million in two years. romney's welfare reform, welfare for the rich. >> and tried to drive between romney and women. >> the team he put together is

exclusively male. romney's answer, there aren't enough women who are qualified. >> in the end, romney lost the race by 17 points. democratic strategist who was part of the team who created the ads and went to film the laid off workers, he's in kennedy to john f. perry. so are you having flash backs to 1994 as you sit here basically as an observer of the obama campaign? i mean, it's striking that we're seeing the same people in the ads. >> if somebody told me 18 years og i wouldn't have believed it. but i think there's a reason we're seeing them. the strategy we used in 1994 against mitt romney was effective, i think, because romney made job creation his central calling card. he's done it again in this campaign. in '94 he said he created 10,000 jobs. that was the centerpiece of the

advertising campaign. now he says he's responsible for 100,000 jobs. and when you undermine that by the facts of his record in business and his record on government, it's very effective. >> as you see romney try to respond to it. during his campaign he struggled -- do you think he's gotten better at responding to these attacks on the business record? just as a strategist. are you finding it a little more difficult to go after him on this? >> i don't think he's gotten better. it still bothers him. the one lesson he's learned and the one thing they're doing is to turn and go negative on your opponent. that's the big takeaway that romney got from the '94 race. he realized if he let his opponent define him the way we did, he was going to lose this time. he turned pretty hard and negative. and consistently ran a negative campaign. that's what they're doing in 2012. >> and the romney campaign will

admit they lost some control of his biography. you look at the polling and it's clear that it's the exact same strategy. it's what you guys did. and you guys were coming late to the game when you consider what happened. kennedy was struggling. we had the william kennedy smith trial. there was a lot of stuff hanging over his head that you had to turn the race into a referendum on romney. he didn't seem to learn the lesson, at least the way june and july went. >> i think they made big mistakes, chuck. they had an opportunity after they secured the nomination to reintroduce mitt romney as a person. to talk about his values. to let people know what motivated him. they decided not to do that. they went hard negative and stayed the course. and i think they're going to pay a price for that. mitt romney needed to build up his favorability. in '94 his favorability was high. and we got the unfavorable higher than the favorable in two weeks. this time romney's own personal

unfavorability is a huge problem in his campaign. and unless they do something about it at the convention or soon thereafter, i think it could be the reason he loses the presidency. >> let me ask you this, are you watching romney having john p kerry flashbacks? >> they come from the same state. i guess there's similarities. obviously john is a very different person. but a challenger to an incoming president to make mistakes. romney is going to pay a costly price for that. >> all right, tad devine, whose trip back in '94 continues to reverberate. tad devine, thank you, sir. >> good to see you. >> this friday is the premier of miami msnbc biography if you will. this is a one-hour special that

examinens his life as a young man, the religion in his rife, his rise as a successful businessman and all the political races. they spent a little time on the kennedy front. that's this friday at 10:00 p.m. eastern. we'll give you a sneak peek throughout the rest of the week. the deadline for todd akin looms. but first, we know youen want it. the white house soup of the day. string bean and ham. we think this is a brand new one. we think this is a soup we have never had on the show before. and it's among the soups i have never tasted. and you can always follow the show on facebook. [ male announcer ] this is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain.

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okay, congressman todd akin has about eight hours before the first of many deadlines in missouri. but even with multiple calls, akin is showing no signs of backing down yet. let's bring in our panel. joy ann reid, ben smith, editor in chief of buzzfeed.com. the chickens are coming home to roost. we put it this way in first read this morning. john cornyn and mitch mcconnell tried to get involved in primaries in 2009 with charlie crist in florida and anybody but rand paul. and they've got bitten and stayed out sings. and now they're in a situation like this. although they stayed out in the missouri republican party and they had a clear favorite here. >> it wasn't todd akin. >> i don't know. i'm not sure they could have tipped it. they don't have more control

over this guy for having let him win. >> but you can kweez people out of races if you have some type of power. the party is going to do this. what incentive -- why should he listen to people who never wanted him to win the nomination? >> when you look at how the primary went down, it was a three-way race but really an eight-way race. he won 230,000 people. in missouri, that's 3.3% of the population. this guy was not voted in by a mandate. he barely made it in. i'm not sure he was the consensus vote for all conservatives. when sean hannity is calling for you to consider your country and do the right thing, i think it's clear that there's no -- there's no sort of rallying around todd akin. >> but, joy, let's make it clear. they just simply want the senate seat. this is not about they don't know if he'll be good. they're not saying any of that.

they just realize, oh my gosh, we can't control the united states senate. we've already blown three seats in 2010 because of our inable to nominate the correct people in delaware, nevada, and colorado. add missouri to this. >> this is about the meeting to get four seats. and this was factored in for the always was. as a gimme. >> under estimating she is a gifted politician. >> he is still up. >> he is still up in the latest poll. >> it's tied. >> first of all, let me say about the poll. the fact of the matter is the republican party has ended any chance to win. if you are mccaskel now, you are running against akin. mitt romney says this is the republican candidate for u.s. senate. >> this is a sitting member of the house of representatives who

got dozens of co-sponsors. >> and ben, i can tell you, you are right. this was a member of congress. he wasn't treated that way publicly. but behind the scenes, he was. every member took him seriously. they don't want to start fights or pick fights with interests groups. this goes into the, can you mind your party? >> right. that's how paul ryan has brought to the ticket this whole house republican. >> he's not one of them and it's in his mind set. >> they are like the in laws of the wedding. >> that you don't want showing up. when we come back, i'll do the media market. this was tough. how many men have held all three of the big jobs in politics? governor, senator and president? four. monroe, harrison, tyler and andrew johnson.

all have held the big jobs. do you have a political question you think should be on the show? e-mail us. we'll be right back. mitt romney has run for all three. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your lergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d.

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let's bring back the panel. s.e. cupp and ben smith. i like to put up the boards. ben smith, the states are the same. des moines, iowa, colorado, virginia and ohio. charlotte, north carolina is sneaking in there. i don't see pennsylvania and wisconsin. i'm sorry, until romney can expand the map, it makes it hard. you see how romney can win nationally. you see it state by state. >> it is the old mario cuomo line. they are not spending the money

there. >> have they made a mistake, s.e.? go all in in pennsylvania? >> no, i don't think pennsylvania would be a consideration for romney. he went in for a couple of times in charter schools. he was burned. >> colorado is the democratic fire wall. obama wins colorado, he can afford to lose ohio. it expands the map for the democrats. >> shameless plugs. mr. buzz feed. >> i don't know if this is buzz feed. anna north published "america pacific." it is like what will happen if we go over the fiscal cliff. >> does it involve us living on water? >> it's a bad sin. >> s.e. >> "new york daily news" has a

section called the rumble. it is a blog. >> i love buzz feed. check out thecareer.com. i'm interviews joan walsh. we had never met until i was here. >> pay it forward. that is it for this edition of "the daily rundown." we will have the numbers. did romney get a bump? we have pete williams interview with the supreme court justice antonia scalia. coming up next is chris jansing. ♪ ♪one smile that cheers you ♪one face that lights when it nears you.♪ ♪and you will be happy too.